Bakelite Buttons from Elvenkrafte Studios

Here is a dandy button which is very similar to one that I sold on ebay a while back, a bakelite painters' palette with paints and brushes made of other materials. The base, or palette, is made of marbled white bakelite/catalin (which will eventually oxidize a bit to a more yellow in color). Into the bakelite base I've inlaid 9 different blobs of paint which are an amber colored Mexican fire opal (sorry, no fire in this opal. It's just a nice amber color), red coral, amethyst for purple, lapis lazuli for dark blue, turquoise for light blue, jade for green, light green jadeite glass, obsidian for black and mother of pearl for white. The brushes are made of cow horn and vegetable ivory with some enamel painted details on the bristle ends. The button measures 1 5/8 inches at the longest measurement and has a self shank carved onto the back, where I've also inscribed my signature and the date.

Price.....$200.00

Bakelite Fairy seated on Crescent Moon Button

This button is a fun little carving that I put together using 4 different colors of vintage bakelite/catalin. The crescent moon is carved from a cream corn yellow bakelite that has faint red marbling mixed into it. The fairy, who is inlaid into the moon, is constructed of pink and blue moon bakelites with wings of light green bakelite. The fairy's hair and facial features are colored with enamel paints and I also added a slight wash of dark enamel to the finer carved details (such as the veins in the wings and spaces in between fingers and toes). The button measures a fairy hair over 1 3/8 inches at the longest measurement and has a self shank carved on the back, where I've also inscribed my signature and the date.

Price.....$200.00

Carved Bakelite & Gold Filled Metal Lobster Button

This is a great little lobster button that I've carved from vintage bakelite/catalin with 1/20 12 K Gold filled metal antanae. The lobster has a bit of darker wash in the carved details to add greater dimension and shadows. The antanae are inserted deep into the lobster and epoxied into place. The button measures a bit over 2 inches at the longes measurement and has a self shank carved onto the back, where I've also inscribed my signature and the date.

SOLD

Carved Blue Bakelite Elephant with Movable Part Button

Here is a delightful circus elephant button which I've carved from light blue marbled vintage bakelite. This blue will eventually oxidize a bit and turn to a light blue-green and cream mixture. I also inset a red and yellow bakelite blanket on its back, a pair of elephant ivory tusks and bakelite eyes. The large bead which the elephant is balancing on spins on a small gold colored metal screw. The bead is another form of plastic (probably a polyester but I'm unsure). The elephant's toenails are painted with white enamel paint. The button measures just under 2 1/4 inches at the longest measurement and has a self shank carved onto the back. This button would also make a dandy pin if the new owner would like to have it converted into one, and I will be glad to do so for the cost of the pin component. My signature and the date are inscribed on the back.

SOLD

Awesome Carved Blue Moon Bakelite Crab Button

Here is a very nice blue crab button that I've carved from gorgeous blue moon bakelite. The crab is very realistically detailed and I've even inlaid black bakelite eyes into the ends of the eye "stalks". The crab measures just a bit under 2 inches at the longest measurement, has a self shank carved onto the back and my signature and the date inscribed there as well.

Price....$200.00

Laminated Bakelite & Horn Turtle Button

This button is carved from a section of an almost black water buffalo horn and a vintage dark green bakelite/catalin which has tiny glittering flecks of silver embedded in it. The horn composes the main part of the turtle's body in two sections, one which makes up the top part of the shell and another making the bottom/back of the button. The green bakelite/catalin body of the turtle is sandwiched in between the two sections. The turtle's eyes are inlaid using bone and bakelite. I carved a self shank onto the back and inscribed my signature and the date there as well. The button measures right at 1 3/8 inches.

Price....$175.00

Carved Bakelite Kitty Cat with Toy Mouse Button

Here is a whimsical little button featuring a yellow-brown kitty cat playing with a toy mouse. Both the cat and mouse are carved from vintage bakelite/catalin. The cat also has inlaid bakelite eyes. Connecting the cat and the dangling mouse are gold plated metal eyelets. The button has a self shank carved onto the back and my signature and the date inscribed there as well. The longest measurement is a whisker under 1 3/4 inches.

SOLD

Carved Bakelite GoldFish Button

Here is a gorgeous little goldfish button that I've carved from vintage bakelite/catalin. I've carved this same fish design before both as a pin and as a button, both proved to be very popular. This version has a nice little swirl of red marbled in the bakelite right on the fish's cheek, as well as some other smaller streaks of red mixed throughout the fish's body. I also inlaid an eye using apple juice and black bakelite. The button measures right at 1 1/2 inches at the longest measurement, has a self shank carved onto the back and my signature and the date inscribed there as well.

Sold

Laminated Bakelite Teddy Bear Button

This button is carved from three colors of vintage Bakelite laminated together. The body of the bear is a nice teddy bear brown and then there is a swirly white Bakelite inlaid for the chest and muzzle areas. The eyes and nose are tiny pieces of black Bakelite also laminated into the button. I carved a self shank onto the back and inscribed my signature and the date.

Price....$125.00

Carved Ivory Cherub on a Laminated Bakelite Heart Button

Here is a marriage of two wonderful materials, ivory and Bakelite. The ivory is pre-ban African material (see About The Materials for more information on the ivory that I use) and is laminated into the heart, which is itself laminated with two colors of red. There is a dark red or maroon for the back and shank and a truer red for the front of the heart. The cherub is carved with detailed wings behind and a smiling face in front. The button is nicely polished and measures 1 & 1/8 inches at the longest measurement. I inscribed my signature and the date onto the back.

Price.....$125.00

Carved Bakelite and Ivory Little Bo Peep or Mary Had a Little Lamb Button

This is a darling little button featuring a little girl shepherdess with a sheep. I made the button with Little Bo Peep in mind but she could just as easily be Mary who has found her lamb. The button is based on a swirled emerald green Bakelite with the girl and lamb carved from pre-ban African elephant ivory. The shepherdess' staff/crook is made from gold filled metal and the button has details painted with enamel paint. Longest measurement of this dandy button is 1 & 1/4 inches.

Price....$175.00

Mechanical Bakelite Airplane Button

This is a great little transportation button.
Depicting a little gray airplane, the button is carved entirely from Bakelite and has a red movable prop which spins on a tiny metal
screw (actually if you hold the plane with the prop pointed towards you, and blow on the front of the plane, the prop will spin nicely).
The windshield of the plane is painted with enamel paint and a clear protective coat. The button measures 1 3/8 inches, has a self
shank and my signature and the date inscribed.

$100.00

Mechanical Red Bakelite Telephone Button

Here is a great little realistic telephone button that I've carved from vintage Bakelite, giving it a dial which spins on a small metal screw
to make it a mechanical, and a phone cord make from a black strand of plastic coated telephone wire. There is also a small piece of
gold filled metal embedded as the finger-stop (not sure what the proper name is for that piece on a real phone) on the bottom edge of
the dial.

The button has a self shank, my signature and the date inscribed, and measures 1 1/4 inches (although the phone cord tends to stick
out a bit over that, it could easily be compressed a bit more in its coil to fit within the measurement).

Price...$150.00

Bakelite Hand Holding a Genuine Cultured Pearl

This is a gorgeous button that I've carved from vintage Bakelite as a hand holding a pearl (wow...if it were realistic size...don't you
wish you had a pearl that large?!!). The pearl is a genuine cultured fresh water pearl drilled as a bead and is attached securely with a
steel pin inserted through the hole and into the fingers holding it. The fingernails are painted with enamel paint and the button measures
1 3/8 inches. I carved a self shank onto the back and my signature and the date are inscribed.

SOLD

Mechanical Carved Bakelite (With Gold Filled Metal) Dairy Cow

Here is a whimsical little moo cow button that I've carved out of vintage Bakelite. I also used this design to carve a brooch quite some time ago. The cow is white Bakelite with black Bakelite spots and an eye inlaid into the base, enamel paint for the hooves, tail, horns and the collar from which a gold filled metal cow bell hangs. The cow's udder is pink Bakelite. The tiny clapper in the bell swings freely to make this a mechanical button. The longest measurement of the button is 1 & 5/8 inches.

SOLD

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